


Day 20. Tranquil

by Munnin



Series: Fictober [20]
Category: Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003) - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-20
Updated: 2018-10-20
Packaged: 2019-08-04 10:30:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16345079
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Munnin/pseuds/Munnin
Summary: It's quiet after the battle that allows time to reflect.





	Day 20. Tranquil

**Author's Note:**

> If you don't know and love him yet, check out Joe Hogan's art. It's his fault I love his Red Mist squad so much.

The greatest tranquillity Jat felt was after a successful battle was when they were waiting to be picked up. 

Because there was nothing to do but what needed to be done. 

No next mission to prepare for, no orders to plan for. No past to worry about because you couldn’t change what had already happened. Only learn from it.

Just the moment.

Injuries to be dealt with, gear to be checked. Food and hydro to be consumed. 

This one had been okay, as far as battles went. There were losses, yes, but less than there could have been. There weren’t too many injuries to be treated, and the medics were dealing with that.

There was just time. Time to wait. And to celebrate still being alive.

It took Ridley and Gleeb almost no time to set up a hoopball court, and challenging the other squads. The game was… spirited would be a polite word for it. Bloody vicious might be another.

Another day, Jat might have joined in. But right now, he wasn’t feeling it.

The flat, open space had been a municipal square before the city had been abandoned. Or evacuated. It was hard to tell now. 

He gave the trooper on patrol a nod, wandering through interconnected courtyards, still green and lush and just beginning to be overgrown.

Evacuated then, but not that long ago. 

He found a quiet corner with a series of crystal bowls set into a high wall. It was beautiful but missing something. He put his bucket down and climbed up, clearing vines away from the bowls. At the top he found an energy convertor, blocked by the encroaching greenery. 

As soon the local star’s light hit the panel, the pumps groaned into life. Water started as a trickle from a gap in the wall. From bowl to bowl, the sparkling water flowed, making the crystal ring. 

It was beautiful, light dancing off every surface. Just as it was meant to. 

This was a place made to be beautiful. Made to be enjoyed. Not fought over.

He sat and watched the water flow, letting the sound of the ringing crystal wash away his worries

He didn’t hear the Jedi enter the courtyard till she spoke. Hands on her hips, Commander Tano smiled. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a clone trooper so calm. Or so sad.”

Jat gave her a respectful nod. “It’s peaceful here. It must have been a beautiful city once.” 

“Once.” Ahsoka reflected. “But now, maybe it will be again.”

“I hope so.” Jat sighed, leaning back to watch the progress of the water. “But not in the same way as it was before. I’d imagine it will take a long time to heal.”

Ahsoka cocked her head, hands on her hips. “You’re not talking about the city, are you?”

“The city too.” Jat lowered his eyes and shrugged. 

“If it helps to talk, you can you know? I don’t mind.”

Jat chuckled at that. “I’m sure a Jedi Commander has more important things to do than listen to just another trooper.”

Ahsoka frowned. “Is that really how you see yourself? You know we don’t, right? Every trooper is their own person. I know-” She cut herself off, phrasing the answer more carefully. “Perhaps not all Jedi take the time to get to know every clone as an individual. But you’re not-” she waves her hands, looking for the words, “replaceable parts.”

“With all due respects Commander, that’s exactly what we are. That’s what we were made for. And that’s alright. We were created for war.” He let his eyes be drawn back to the sparkling cascade of water. “It’s everyone else I worry about. Not everyone gets mixed up in the fight is ready for it. But it happens to them, whether they’re ready or not.”

She cocked her head again. “You lost someone? Someone who wasn’t a clone?”

Jat folded his arms and nodded slowly. “Several people. I served at the Battle of Narcissus Pool.”

“Oh!” Ahsoka couldn’t stifle her gasp. Narcissus Pool was one of the worst defeats of the early stages of the war. One of the ugliest losses of life recorded so far. Weeks of her tactical training was devoted to making sure nothing like that happened again. “You were… one of the lucky ones then.”

“Not luck.” Jat shook his head. “The skill, dedication, and determination of one person. Not a clone trooper but a Republic cruiser captain. If she hadn’t disobeyed orders and brought her ship down to the surface, no-one would have survived that battle. The handful of us who made it out owed her our lives.” He lowered his eyes again. “She… she went down with her ship on our last mission.” 

“The Zephyrus?” Ahsoka asked, trying to remember what she’d heard at the briefing. “I heard about that. I’m sorry.” 

Jat nodded his thanks, lost in his own thoughts. 

“Sounds to me like,” Ahsoka started, needing to fill the melancholy silence, “if she went down with her ship, she knew what she was doing. No-one can order you to do that. She chose to do what she believed was right. She might not have been created to be a warrior like you, or called to it like me, but she knew what she was doing.”

Jat looked at the young Jedi for a long moment. Longer than was proper for a clone trooper to stare. “I think you’re right. Thank you.”

Ahsoka smiled but before she could answer, a ship started to enter the atmosphere. “I think this is our ride.” 

Jat glanced back to the crystal fountain. “Sir, can I have a moment?”

She nodded and stepped back, leaving him alone in the courtyard. 

Jat looked around again, breathing in the stillness of the place. Here was as good a place as any to set down his burden of grief, to leave behind the memory of Captain Avery like the burial she would never have. The stones would never bear her name, no-one else would come here to mourn her. But for Jat, those sparkling cascade would be her memorial. 

He stepped out to find Commander Tano waiting for him. “Are you ready to go?” She asked, as he put his bucket back on.

“Yes.” He nodded, feeling somehow lighter. “I think I am.”

**Author's Note:**

> Josh, with gratitude!


End file.
